


What John Sees

by nemo_baker



Series: What They See [6]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Cute, Episode: s02e01 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Jealousy, M/M, Prompt Fic, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 14:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4395206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nemo_baker/pseuds/nemo_baker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the prompt from jo02:  I have a fondness for fic where Jack and Ianto are being observed - by accident - by one of the other characters (hopefully Gwen) and learns something positive and new about their relationship. Something nice but not mushy or sentimental.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What John Sees

**Author's Note:**

> Another popularly suggested character. Happy reading!

John Hart prided himself on being a liar. He wasn’t a compulsive one, because he never lied without a reason. He just… always had a reason. His lies were brilliantly crafted, to the point of being infallible until it was too late to stop him from achieving his ends. They were works of art. Which was why he was absolutely disgusted with himself, for revealing a singular truth to a man who did not deserve to hear it.

He’d told Captain Jack Harkness that he loved him. Well, not in so many words. He’d asked him to come with him and explore the universe, just like old times. He’d admitted, at least in some small way, to wanting and needing Jack. For John, that qualified as a declaration of love. And then Jack had the gall to choose a sodding planet, and his poor excuse for a team, over him.

John couldn’t let that go.

Which was why, when Jack told him to get gone and stay gone, he completely ignored the other man. After disappearing to the Galadros system for a couple of hours, he set his Vortex Manipulator to take him back to the blue pissball known as Earth. He appeared about a week after the debacle with the ‘diamond’ in linear time, and made sure to keep to the shadows so that Torchwood remained unaware of his return.

After he was certain they weren’t coming after him, he acquired some less conspicuous clothing and made his way towards Roald Dahl Plass. He wandered discreetly for a few hours, waiting for someone to come out of one of the hidden entrances to the Hub. He still had no idea what he was going to do to exact his revenge, but something would undoubtedly come to mind.

Waiting turned out to be incredibly boring. As the city grew darker and the Plass grew quieter, he decided it would be best to wait until tomorrow to continue his vigil. After a few minutes of walking down dark alleys and backstreets, he found himself in the center of the city. The streets and shops were well lit, and he gazed into the windows as he passed. Nothing garnered much interest.

Until he saw Jack.

He was sitting in a restaurant, which looked expensive and Italian, across from a familiar dark haired man in a formal suit.

“Hello there, Eye Candy,” John muttered under his breath. His curiosity piqued, he made his way over to them.

He carefully avoided showing them his face as he found a table near theirs and sat down. A waiter placed a glass of water in front of him, along with some sliced bread. He waved the man away, then hid behind a menu. The sound of clinking cutlery and obnoxious laughter from other tables was not loud enough to cover the murmur of Jack and Ianto’s conversation.

“This is some excellent ravioli,” Jack said, putting another forkful into his mouth.

“I could tell,” Ianto replied. “From the obscene noises you were making earlier.”

“Hey, it’s been a while since I had a decent meal. Cut me some slack.”

“You’re paying for my food. You can do whatever you want.”

“Is that a promise?”

Ianto rolled his eyes, but John could see the blush starting in his cheeks.

Jack chuckled. “Sorry, I’ll behave.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

They were chatting. Which was incredibly odd, since Jack did not chat with people. John could confirm, from personal experience, that Jack was a person who took what he wanted and left. No time for small talk, or soothing ruffled feathers.

John wondered what had changed.

“How’s your food?” Jack prompted.

“It’s lovely. You picked a good place.”

“Wanted to get it right. First date, and all...” The expression on Jack’s face as he said that was nervous, almost shy. He was looking at Ianto for approval, John realized.

John flicked his gaze over to Ianto, and watched as the man’s neutral air gave way. He looked at Jack with softening eyes and the beginning of a smile on his lips. “I know.”

The silence that followed was distinctly more comfortable, but John could tell there was still an elephant in the room. He wondered if they planned on dancing around it all night. He turned away for a moment, taking a sip of his water and trying to quell the pang of jealousy that had struck him when Jack had said the word ‘date’. Dating was another thing the Jack he knew had avoided at all costs. To Jack, dating spoke of an intimacy that he didn’t share with anyone. It meant making promises you couldn’t keep, having commitments you didn’t want.

And yet, he seemed to have decided this kid was worth the risk.

Eventually, their words picked back up again, and he realized why. They seemed to have reached a silent agreement to disregard the elephant, and the tide of the conversation changed dramatically. Instead of the careful exchanges of before, there was a new sense of fluidity between them that he realized couldn’t actually be new. Ianto's teasing and quick wit soon brought light and laughter into Jack’s eyes, and Jack gradually coaxed a surer smile onto Ianto's face. The warmth between them blossomed as the night progressed, and John could feel the heat of it from several feet away.

He didn’t want to see this. But he couldn’t look away, either. Jack was beautiful this way, as close to carefree as John had ever seen him. He looked… genuinely happy.

And oh, did that thought hurt.

It was nearly an hour later when Jack checked his watch.

“We’d better get going, or we’ll be late for the movie.”

“Alright.”

Jack paid the check, and then the pair rose from the table. John turned away as they passed him, but looked back in time to see Jack lock his fingers with Ianto’s.

And then they were gone. John sat for a moment, fiddling with his unused knife.

John Hart prided himself on being a liar. And some of his most steadfast lies were the ones he told to himself. He looked at the evidence he’d been presented with, of this new Jack who was slightly less afraid of loving people. But one that could never love him. He saw the life he’d wanted, one where he bounded between worlds with Jack at his side, falling away before his eyes.

And decided that was a load of bullshit. He flicked open his wrist strap and set new coordinates.

He had to see a guy about a particular prison ship. And a long lost brother.  



End file.
